The present invention relates to a technique for acquiring a reference position relative to a circuit board in the execution of processes related to mounting of electronic components onto a circuit board, as well as a technique for determining whether to execute a process related to mounting of electronic components onto a circuit board. Such techniques are utilized primarily in techniques for printing bonding material onto a circuit board in mounting of electronic components or for mounting (placing) electronic components onto a circuit board.
Conventionally, it has been practiced to identify specified printing positions or mounting positions on a circuit board on the basis of an image acquired by image pickup of the circuit board in the execution of processes related to the mounting of electronic components onto a circuit board such as printing of solder paste involved in the mounting of electronic components or mounting of the electronic components onto a circuit board, or a printed circuit board.
For example, Japanese unexamined patent publication No. 63-74530 A discloses a technique for acquiring positions (position data) of two marks previously provided on a circuit board to calculate an expansion ratio of the circuit board, and determining a mounting position of an electronic component on the circuit board has been corrected by the expansion ratio.
Also, Japanese unexamined patent publication No. 11-154799 A discloses a technique for acquiring positions of four or more marks provided on a circuit board, determining positional correction amounts from a plurality of combinations of three marks selected from among those four marks, respectively, and determining a mounting position corrected by using an average value of the positional correction values of all the combinations.